“I first met Ronnie in the early Eighties when we played with Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult, the infamous ‘Black and Blue’ tour.

“I first heard him sing on The Butterfly Ball and from that moment I understood what great singing was all about; he was at the top of his game from then on.

“His voice was always powerful and soaring; his phrasing was uniquely his, copied by many but never bettered.

“I will miss him as we all will.

“The last time we met was in Finland last year, both bands stranded in an airport with flight delays. What do you do?! Go to the bar, get drunk and tell rock and roll stories.

“He told great stories.

“Deepest condolences to his family.

“Somewhere in the night a candle burns for you

“To absent friends.”

Jeff Waters (Annihilator):

“Ronnie was a super-nice person, uniquely talented and has left us all with great music. In a way, it will strange to live and work in a world and business where Ronnie James Dio is no longer on tour, at the festivals, putting out his music.

“You will never be forgotten and will live on in the music of so many others.

“Stand up and shout.”

Random AKA Mega Ran:

“Still speechless.. wow.. R.I.P to the greatest voice in metal. Now there truly is a Rainbow in the Dark.”

Lemmy (Motorhead):

“I’m truly upset, especially since he seemed to be rallying at the Golden Gods show.

“Bon Voyage, Ronnie. Rest in peace.

“I’m devastated”

Corye Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour):

“One of the strongest, purist and consistent singers of all time. Ronnie sang like he lived — all out, from the heart, with so much honesty and joy. He was a great man with a smile and a handshake for fans and peers alike. He spoke his mind and stood his ground for decades. I will miss him dearly.”

Kerry King (Slayer):

“Few people have had the ability to carry a song like Dio, literally demanding your attention as he effortlessly recreated live the amazing things he did on record, it’s odd how things get taken from you quickly…I just saw him a month ago. I know I was lucky to have known Ronnie. One of the nicest guys in the business, without a doubt. He will be hugely missed.”

“My part in this ‘summer music playlist’ it is going to be a touch bittersweet as it turns out.

“Last weekend, Ronnie James Dio succumbed to his battle with stomach cancer. From what I understand, Ronnie fought like a warrior to the end.
“I was supposed to pick a new-ish song for this list, but when it comes to rocking out in the summertime, sometimes you just got to go a little bit old-damn-school.

“Last In Line is an ass-kicker right up there with anything, punk, rock, and/or metal, and us rockers owe a bit of reverence to this great man.

“R.I.P., RJD!”

Steve Vai:

“Dio was a shining light of rock/metal authenticity. He was a completely dedicated artist with massive talent. It’s likely that his vital contributions will continue to inspire well into the future. He is now legend. But more than all this, Ronnie was a really cool guy. I mean reeeally cool.

“God bless you, brutha.”

Gus G. (Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind, ex Dream Evil):

“On the night of May 16th, I was shocked to read the news. Ronnie James Dio, a true rock giant, is no longer with us.

“My condolences go out to his family and close ones and my thoughts are with you.

“His music with Dio, Black Sabbath and Rainbow has had a huge impact on me and Firewind‘s sound. One of the bands I used to play in also got its name from one of his songs — that was Dream Evil.

“While I never had the chance to meet him, Firewind played a festival with Heaven & Hell in 2009 and I got to see him perform. No doubt, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and I was amazed by his energy and how spot-on all his notes were.

“His music will continue to inspire and his legacy will live on forever.

“Thank you for your magic, Ronnie James Dio.”

Ozzy Osbourne:

“I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Ronnie James Dio. Metal has truly lost one of its greatest voices. My heart goes out to his family and to his many fans.

“Love and respect.”

Joey Belladonna (Anthrax):

“Ronnie was a big inspiration, influence and dear friend of mine. He was a true gentleman and kind hearted individual. He always would go out of his way to make you feel welcome and important. Without a doubt he was one of the best, top notch and a class act. I will truly miss him.”

Henry Rollins:

“Backstage at the venue. Listening to Rainbow, tonight’s walk-in CD is burning away in my laptop. All Dio all night.

When a legend like Slash decides to make a solo album, he doesn’t do it by half, enlisting his friends to help him out, Slash has created what will surely go down as one of the greatest and most diverse rock albums of all time.

The album starts with a bang with Ghosts featuring The Cult lead singer Ian Astbury. This is a fantastic way to begin the album, the chorus seems to sum this whole project up with the line: “Kill the ghost, that hides in your soul, Rock ‘n’ Roll.” As expected the guitar work on this album is stellar, then again, Slash very rarely disappoints.

Up next is Crucify The Dead, with the legendary Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, on first listen this song seemed to be an anti Black Sabbath song, but after reading into it, it is Ozzy’s view on the demise of Guns n’ Roses. This is a great track with haunting lyrics and one of the best vocal performances from Ozzy in a long time.

Surprising, one of my favourite tracks on this album is Beautiful Dangerous, featuring Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. This song shows Fergie has really versatile voice, she really can sing!

The two tracks on the album featuring the amazing voice of Myles Kennedy, Back From Cali and Starlight are also great. Myles is, in my opinion, one of the greatest singers in all of rock music, it’s no wonder he was considered for the job in Led Zeppelin.

Doctor Alibi, featuring Lemmy, is a rocked up Motorhead song, and you can’t go wrong with that. Lemmy isn’t the best singer in the world, but his voice suits the music and his lyrics are amazing!

Watch This, an instrumental jam, featuring Slash’s bandmate in Velvet Revolver Duff McKagan and Foo Fighterds main man Dave Grohl, is possibly the weakest track on the album, musically it is great, but it doesn’t offer much to the album as a whole, and at some points, it sounds exactly like (Velvet Revolver track) Slither.

Nothing To Say, featuring M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold is possibly the most “metal” track on the album. It has a sinister intro and the main riff is very Metallica-esque. M Shadows, as usual, offers a great vocal performance and the chorus is brilliant.

The final track on the album, We’re All Gonna Die, Featuring the legend that is Iggy Pop, is superb. It’s a fun, catchy and hillarious rock song. Iggy’s lyrics are brilliant: “I wanna, I wanna, I wanna whip it out and pee on the ground!” for example. This is a great way to end the album, it just shows how much fun it must have been for Slash to make this album.

I haven’t written about every track, but in all the album is definitely a must buy. If you call yourself a rock fan, then this album should be in your collection!

Lemmy recently did an interview with The Belfast Telegraph, heres some excerpts from he chat:

On living life in the fast lane and possible retirement:

“I can’t think of anything better to do, can you? I can’t see retirement being any better than running round the world chasing birds.”

On staying on the road for long periods of time:

“Tours really blur after a while. But every tour’s good, as long as you’re not crippled!”

On how many other veteran acts take five or more years between albums:

“I think the band kind of dies about the third year in without another album. If I sold as many records as AC/DC, I’d do one every six fucking months!”

On MOTÖRHEAD’s influence, with everyone from METALLICA to Dave Grohl crediting the English rockers for having inspired them:

“It’s nice to be complimented. If we made somebody pick up a guitar and make music, then it can’t be all bad.”

On resisting calls to reunite with guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor — the mob that recorded seminal metal masterpieces like “Overkill”, “Bomber” and “Ace of Spades”:

“It wouldn’t be fair on these two. These guys have played ‘Ace of Spades’ a lot more times than Phil or Eddie did. We’ve been working too hard at this band now to put it on hold while I go fucking around with the other two. I’m loyal. I was loyal to Phil and Eddie, too, until they weren’t loyal to me any more.”

On his lyrics, which continue to rail against the injustices of modern society:

“It’s all war and child porn. Mankind hasn’t progressed beyond the caves. All we’ve got are bigger weapons. We can just kill our enemies from further away. We don’t have to see what we did.”